Northman-Order Wars
= First Northman-Order War = Background Shortly after the dawn of the world, the Imperial Legion's sovereignity was challenged by Akar and his Golden Horde during Akar's Claim to the Imperial Legion Conflict. Realizing the isolated nature of the Legion's diplomacy, Emperor Nerva2004, sought to contact nearby medium-sized factions: Vroengarde and the Order of Dalmaitus. The first, politely declined the Legion's alliance proposal on the grounds that they had already allied the Dwarven Empire. Meanwhile, the Order of Dalmaitus, isolationist in nature, was cautious, but didn't shut the door to further involvement with the Legion. Eventually a diplomatic mission to visit the Legion sparkled the war. January 28th, 2012 Full Article: Battle of Pinnacle Valley The first war mainly consisted of a Northman raid on the Legion base that took place from January 26th, but overall was an accident because Palmetto_1 mistaked the Northmen for attackers. This sparked a major conflict, known to all as the Battle of Pinnacle Valley, which was a series of extend engagements at the base of the Imperial Legion, known as Fort Pinnacle. It proved to be a victory for the Legion and Order, and both sides agreed to a white peace. This first conflict, however, set up a precedent for further Northmen raids, having harmed their reputation of an unbeatable foe. This little conflict also started a long-lasting rivalry, sometimes friendly, sometimes not so much, between the Order of Dalmaitus and the Men of the North, that would last up to the dissolution of both factions. = Second Northman-Order War = The second war, also called the "War of Abbews' Gender," was a longer lasting war where the strength of the foes was truly tested. This war was only just after the second war between the Wicked Men of the West and the Men of the North, and the victorious Northmen had demanded tribute from its people. The Wicked Men of the West supported the Order/Legion alliance in the conflict, trying to stop the Men of the North from bullying the other factions of the server. Background A week after the battle of Pinnacle Valley, the Wicked Men decided to avenge their last defeat and the loss of Eöl by attacking the Men of the North. This offensive, while initially successful, turned against the Wicked after a successful counter-attack by two of the North’s Jarls, in which the entire army of the Wicked Men of the West was destroyed. This, however, prompted a triple alliance between The Order of Dalmaitus, The Imperial Legion, and The Wicked Men of the West where they would support each other's efforts to fight the Men of the North. February 3rd, 2012 Opening Ambush When Northman 10greenbottles decided to visit the Legion to bother its members, the word was given quickly by Sun_Tzomas, so that the hidden Knight Nerva2004 would come out of the Order's secret nether portal and ambush the unwary Northman. The surprise was lost however as the Northman noticed the Knight's presence, and so calm manners were maintained as Nerva claimed to be trading. However, while inspecting the Legion's defenses, Nerva2004 noticed that the Northman had started looting the unclaimed Legion's chests, and therefore shot some arrows to scare the Northman off. To this he answered by declaring war on both the Legion and the Order. Palmetto_1 and Nerva2004 both charged 10greenbottles and slew him after cornering him. Second Battle of Pinnacle Valley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTa4Gn-y32M After this, Palmetto_1 and Nerva2004 quickly set up a defensive position in the Pinnacle above their fortress, while 4 northmen took control of the fortress below. An arrow exchange ensued, with the defenders fearing a melee due to their numerical and equipment disadvantage. After no real advance from either side, and fearing the Northmen lust for loot, Knight Nerva2004 decided to surprise the Northmen by going through a secret tunnel under the walls. However, this failed when the attackers rapidly discovered the maneuver and engaged the defenders in one of the Legion's houses, where they were promptly slain. Following this the Men of the North looted the base and returned to their lands. Further Actions http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?p=10985995#post10985995 The first night of the war saw further combat, as an allied force of two knights and one legionnaire, infiltrated Odenstad and engaged the Northman Sevachenko and his numerous dog companions. Although the dogs proved a good diversion, the allies were able to disrupt the Northman’s defense and managed to kill him. The night however wasn't over, as Sun_Tzomas was slain by a Goblin, on alleged bad faith from the Legionnaire. Later the same night three duels were fought between Benz282 and Apple, where the Order Master emerged victorious. He then went and fought Sevachenko thrice, emerging victorious twice and dying once. February 4th, 2012 Various Skirmishing Sun-Tzomas logged in and discovered the Northmen in the Legion base. He was promptly slain by PatrickS1989. No valuables were found, as everything had been hidden the night before. Later that day, Men of the North found the Order's base as well, where knight Nerva2004 was busy hiding his valuables. The base was quickly looted and the Knight slain. After this, various members of the Order retreated to the base of the Wicked Men, to plan a major engagement. Seige of Odenstad A large allied force of Four Order Knights, One Legionnaire, and Two Wicked Men prepared to attack the Northmen base, and set out through the nether. On the journey, in attempting to mine through a wall blocking their path, a staircase was dug down but ended in a drop. Sun_Tzomas, failing to notice this, proceeded to jump through the hole and led three other attackers to their fiery deaths. The allies regrouped, and devised a new, simple plan. The remaining three members would continue through the nether, while the additional five attacked overland. The plan ultimately failed as the nether attackers arrived first, and stumbled upon 10greenbottles in his netherwart farm, who proceeded to raise the alarm. Nerva2004 led the main attack group over the hills of Northman lands and past the "Hello" sign, to Odenstad, where they climbed up the unfinished western wall. Five Northmen quickly responded, consisting of 10greenbottles, Abbews, PatrickS1989, and 2 others. With each individual either well equipped or poorly equipped, due to the accident in the Nether, the attackers were rather evenly matched, although the Northmen were outnumbered by 2 men. The attackers were quickly slain, although Nerva2004 managed to kill Abbews after pushing him off a cliff. The nether force was then quickly slain, as they were ganged upon by the victorious Northmen. Upon their victory, 10greenbottles remarked "What the hell just happened," surprised that they managed to win. February 5th, 2012 War’s End http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?p=10988866#post10988866 The Imperial Legion surrendered to the Men of the North following the disaster at Odenstad and the numerous raids they had suffered. A compensation of 4900 dollars and the elimination of all alliances was agreed upon. Meanwhile, the Wicked Men provided shelter to the defeated Order troops for a day more, until they too, under the threat of annexation, were forced to break their alliance with the Order. Completely defeated and with a half destroyed base, the Order went underground for a few days, until the Northmen, pleased by their victory, accepted white peace. = Aftermath = This war proved to be the first turning point of the server’s early history, and the first to have decided the fates of so many factions, as well as the first where a coalition banded to fight an agressive power. With it the Men of the North effectively established themselves as one of the major powers alongside the Dwarven Empire and The Brotherhood, not to mention the most feared faction by minor ones. The Wicked Men of the Woodlands were left broken, alone and impoverished after this third clash with the North, and no more than two weeks afterwards the faction had effectively ceased to exist. A similar fate befell the Imperial Legion, who managed to outlast the Wicked Men by another week, but finally collapsed due to the lack of resources, members and allies. However, the Legion managed to return several times, and maintains a traditional, and friendly, rivalry with the Northmen. Finally, for the Order of Dalmaitus, this war proved a hard lesson, and isolationism was imposed for several weeks until (To everyone’s surprise) it allied the Men of the North as a way to balance the game of powers the server was experiencing, with the Dwarven Empire having gathered the nations of Vroengarde and the Orcs to its side.